Topic: Peaceful Use of Outer Space
Country: Afghanistan
Delegate Name: Andrew Rising
School: Williamston High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Afghanistan position papers GLIMUN 2010 committees
Every day, it seems, another nation is pledges to send a satellite or astronaut into space. Although space was once the playground of the ultra-rich nations of the world, this no longer holds true. The world is on the verge of a new space race. In much the same way as the US and USSR sought to gain power and prestige by venturing into orbit in the 1960s and 70s, other countries now look to do the same. While the times and the environment have changed, the motives remain the same. As a consequence to these behaviors, space is looking increasingly attractive, but also potentially dangerous. The UN should be committed to a total no-tolerance policy toward the weaponization of earth’s orbit. We must approach this issue with the utmost delicacy. Our actions in determining the nature of space usage will have repercussions far beyond your own petty conflicts. The framework we lay today will be the basis of all space related thought for the future.
Afghanistan has already witnessed first-hand the impact space-based military equipment can have in warfare. Afghanistan and the US led Coalition employ space satellites every day in the Afghan war to aid in the tracking and destruction of Taliban fighters. Although these technologies have proved to be a necessity in the War on Terror, Afghanistan recognizes that alliances will change over time, as they always have. We would thus propose a Space Non-proliferation treaty unbiased toward all countries. If we are to succeed in this endeavor, all nations must look past the current benefits and costs of the militarization of space. A fair, effective resolution can only exist when the nations of the world come to realize that such an agreement is necessary for future generations. The framework we lay today will be the basis of all space related thought for the future. We expect to find allies in all forward thinking countries and those countries without established space programs who fear that the purity of outer space is being violated. For thousands of years, space has remained the ultimate object of mankind’s desire, symbolizing purity and wonder. We cannot allow the cosmos to be desecrated while we stand idly by.
